1uglydude

Sorry, should have included that, located in Gilbert.

Deer. Cattle take bigger bites.

Cool concept. I assume he must have had the sheds or there wouldn't be any way to get his scores so exact? Short of tagging the deer, I wonder how he can be sure that the spike was the same deer the next year? 3,000 acres is a big piece of property. He doesn't say that it's high fenced, and his estimate of 30-40 deer on the property seems ridiculously low.

Have you looked into the 129 grain LRX from Barnes? I've been having really good success with it in my 270WSM.

The best way to learn is to watch someone else do it, then what you read makes a lot more sense. After the spring seasons, give me a ring when you're in the east valley and you can come over and load a bit with me if you'd like. -Jack

First, the increased pressure on metro unit pigs in December is a good thing. Most of these herds never get hunted and just end up causing problems. Second, allowing a double harvest just means that fewer of the draw tags made available go unused. Tag allotments assume a certain percentage of harvest. No more tags are issued that could have been issued under the old one-pig system. Tag allotments are based on biology, and never assumed that up to 50% of the tags for certain units would go unused. One of the primary factors in moving to a two pig quota was the fact that in some units there was severe underharvest of pigs. So, if the new rules increase success, its still within the biological guidelines.

Have you had a chance to weigh it yet to see how much it shed?

These rules are only up for official review and revision every four years. If you were talking to someone about the issue outside of that official process, then there's nothing they could have done to help you. It's state law that causes the delay, not the Department. Under the process outlined by the Republican-led Legislature (whose members generally are opposed to government regulation) the executive agencies can only change their rules every so often. It's viewed as pro-business because it allows businesses to plan and invest in a predicable environment (not really applicable with Game and Fish, but all executive agencies get pulled in). The problem is that sometimes agencies need to be able to react to new developments. Putting a bunch of roadblocks in their way makes that difficult. Blame your elected official, not the Department. And because the process is so slow, there is no way they could react to a new caliber that had only been on the market for two years. Do they even make 17WSM in anything other than explosive varmint ammo? Yes, you're moving faster than a 22 mag (which in my opinion is also underpowered for javelina, but that's just my opinion), but you only have about 20% more energy, and your prospect for actual penetration is going to be lower than with many of the 22 mag options. I've seen javelina take explosive varmint bullets from 223 rifles that run off never to be found because the bullet blew up on the shoulder and never made it into the body cavity. They likely died, but were never recovered.

You might be creating the opposite effect by doing that. If G&F sees high harvest rates they might think the unit holds more deer than it really does since guys are doing so well... thus increasing the amount of tags. Who knows. I always fill it out honestly. I prefer to have accurate info when I review success rates for a particular hunt or when browsing through the MRS in eastmans. Does more harm than good to lie on the survey.That is EXACTLY what will happen. You would think that someone so concerned with the number of tags given out would take the time to get familiar with formulas in the biannual guidelines that the Department uses to set the number of tags, but I guess it's just easier to complain than to actually participate in the process. Hunter success is one of the three variables that go into the equation. Higher hunter success can mean more tags issued because it is interpreted to mean that the unit is underutilized.

Interested in the kids cots and the camp grill. Where are you located?

I hate to admit it but I dont remember the exact time. It was between 3-5 hours for certain, and fought to keep temps under 300 deg in the Yuma sun. I would do a few things different next time. I was only concerned with getting internal temps up high enough to kill any potential trichinosis. I am not 100% if they are carriers but I wanted to be safe since I was cooking for a group. It was delicous. A lot of non hunters left that day thinking Javelina is delicous. According to Gerald Day's book "Javelina: Research and Management in Arizona" (page 76), Game and Fish tested 42 harvested animals throughout the late 1970s and all tests for trichina worms "were found negative." With respect to all parasites as a whole, he observed that "t appears that the incidence of parasitic infestation is low and causes no problems to javelina."

Awesome! Good job showing some young political refugees the ropes.

This is not correct. You misunderstood them. There is a link on the AZGFD page that explains it. The first draw is the bonus pass, which looks at your first AND second choices. 20% of the tags are reserved for this pass to give those with the most points a guaranteed tag. What happened to you was you did not have enough bonus points to get one of the 20% tags for your first choice, but you did for your second choice. When you look at the tag number you drew, I guaranty that the number will be in the first 20% of tags issued. The next draw looks at only first and second choices, but does not have any sort of priority for total number of bonus points. But, unlike what you described above, the look at BOTH choices. The final draw is for the third through fifth choices. Again, they look at ALL choices, not just the third, or the fourth, and then the fifth...it's ALL of them.

Not when you include a unit that always has leftover tags in your 3rd to 5th choices.

See my explanation in the other post where you talked about this (if CWT's server allowed me to copy and paste the text, I would). Basically, it is as was described above, you drew your second choice in the bonus pass. Next year, if you are applying for a hunt that is so easy to draw for your first choice anyways, then just leave the second choice blank. Or, you could list the same hunt for your first and second choice and put your true second choice as the third choice. Problem solved.

That's because you drew in the bonus pass on your second choice. You had enough points to get one of the 20% reserve tags in the second unit, but not the first choice. Next time, put your first choice down as choices one and two and your second choice down as third choice. You won't have that problem again. In fact, it will make your third choice pointless because if there are that many leftovers available for your first choice, then you're always going to draw the tag in the 1/2 pass.

If it's any consolation, next year that junior cow hunt will be moved up to coincide with all the other junior cow hunts. It has been proposed that the week that will leave open will now be used to accommodate a second whitetail season, with the tags for the current October season being split between the two.

I will take both of the Barnes 257 lots. Where you located?

I told my wife's family and extended family a while ago that, if they ever had a desire to go hunting, just let me know and I would help them try it out. I haven't forced the issue, but over the last few years I've been able to take a few of my in-laws out. My father-in-law joins me on the HAM hunt every year now, and he has had a deer tag the last three years. We enjoy the time together. At a family gathering in September my wife's sixteen year old cousin approached me and asked if I would take her hunting...that she wanted to see what it was like. I drove down to Game and Fish the next day and got her a leftover junior pig tag. Over the last few months she has been texting and calling me with questions and showing real interest. I only had time to get her to the range once, but she proved to be a great shot. Today was the day to put it all to the test. My buddy Kent accepted my plea to come along as an extra set of eyes. Due to other commitments, we only had today to get it done. We left my place at 4:30am and parked the truck by about 7:30. We took a moderately strenuous hike to a new glassing point I wanted to check out. I hadn't realized how quickly I move up the slopes and through the desert plants until I noticed how often we had to slow down for the rookie. I felt bad. She carried a lot of cactus spines up and down the mountain, and walked very gingerly, but she hung in there. No sooner did we arrive at our glassing point than Kent glassed up a herd of pigs 500 yards out...freehand...with 8x Pentax binos. She and I prepared for the stalk: It took us about 30 minutes to set up, but we found ourselves roughly 75 to 130 yards from a herd of pigs that was spread out along the ridge in above a wash and just outside of their heavily-used bedding area. We set the rifle up on a tripod and spent the next 12 minutes trying to get her a good shot. The herd didn't know we were there, but they sure seemed to have an uncanny sense for not standing broadside or obscuring their vitals behind vegetation. I was filming the whole time, hoping to get all the action on camera. Finally, a handful of pigs worked into the open. The one that was most exposed and that stood out the most was broadside at 75 yards. "Do you see that one?" I asked her? "Yes" she said. "Shoot him" I whispered. I just had time to adjust the camera when the shot rang out. Odd...the pig didn't flinch and I didn't see a bullet strike the slope? "You need to shoot again!" "Are you sure? I think I got it." "Yes, shoot again!" "Um...Okay?" A split second before she pulled the trigger I noticed that there was a nearly dead pig thrashing on the ground 10 yards to the left of the pig I had been watching. I didn't have time to stop her before she let another bullet fly. That one also found its mark. If I had known which pig she was aiming for, I would have suggested she try for something larger, but she was excited at the results, and I was excited for her. The entry wounds were within about an inch of each other. The first one destroyed the heart, and the second one made sure there weren't any pieces of it left. She's a little deadeye, even under pressure. As it turns out, the pig she shot was literally two feet out of the frame of what I was filming. If I ever figure out how to download, format, and then upload the video, I will share it anyways as it's the best 12 minutes of "aim for that pig...no wait...try for that one...dang, why doesn't he turn broadside?" you'll ever see. The pigs didn't seem to know what rifle shots were, as they all hung around for some time. All in all, there were more than 20 pigs in the herd. They spend a lot of time in that area, so we'll be back. She says she can't wait to do it again. Good thing, because my credit card was charged for a spring junior tag that will come with her name on it.

"Hecho" en China They look fantastic! Made in China?

If you see a large coyote that looks like it may be a wolf dog with a phony radio collar, don't hesitate to take whatever action you feel is appropriate.

I love the new Redfield Revolution scopes. They were a lot cheaper when they first came out, but they are still very reasonable (price on par with the cheaper Vortex scopes, but WAY better eye relief and clarity). On my AR I have a 4-12x40, but on my next one I'm going with the 2-7x33.

I'm guessing Friday, at the earliest, but planning on Tuesday.

Kids who draw junior deer tags can purchase "companion" javelina tags in some units without having to through a draw process. It's about hunter recruitment, as the money side of it is pretty minimal. We did it for a junior hunt once, and it saved the weekend for us. The deer didn't work out, but there were pigs everywhere. It gave the junior hunter an opportunity for some action, and a harvest, that wouldn't have occurred otherwise.

Sportsman's Guide has "irregular" double front pants in the brown color for about $33. I have purchased three pairs, and I can't find anything "irregular" about them. They do seem a titch long, but that doesn't matter as much when you're pulling them over hunting boots.